


(Don't) Be This

by burning_nova



Category: Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Child Soldiers, Gen, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-28
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-09 21:09:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5555450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burning_nova/pseuds/burning_nova
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karen, Foggy and Matt each have several secrets.  When a villain turns them into children, they react in a way no one expected. Especially the Avengers who came to help the civilians.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: http://daredevilkink.dreamwidth.org/6237.html?thread=12295517#cmt12295517
> 
> I'm also shit at action scenes. Sorry.

Karen turned the key in the lock and the tapped the glass on the sign. “We’re officially closed until, Monday!” she announced. 

“Yes!” Foggy exclaimed causing Matt to laugh in agreement. “From here until Monday at 6 a.m. Nelson, Murdock and Page are officially not working!”

“We should send Karen to law school.” Matt mused. “That name sounds fantastic.”

“Karen does not want to go to law school, but thank you. I’m also not coming in at six on Monday.” Karen replied good-naturedly. She put away the keys. With that they headed down the stairs and out the building. They walked a few blocks to the subway. 

“Okay. Just so we’re clear I refuse to hear any complaints about watching Pineapple Express.” Karen gave a groan. “Aht! We agreed, I got to choose and we’ll probably be a bit too drunk by five for me to give an accurate description to Matt about anything complicated.”

“Matt?” Karen pleaded, Matt shrugged.

“We had a deal. You chose brunch, Foggy has the movie and I have dinner.” 

“Fine, don’t complain to me about it when it starts playing.”

“It can’t be that bad. I heard it was funny.”

“If you’re in college, maybe.”

“I also have Tropic Thunder.” Foggy said. “I have many questionable modern comedies but thought Pineapple Express would fit the night. I’m mean we’re not going to be high but drunk and I want us to be happy drunks not sad drunks. Especially my buddy here.” He placed his arm around Matt’s shoulders. Matt laughed and shook Foggy off. 

“We’re coming up to the subway entrance, Matt.” Karen called. Foggy grinned. 

“I say ten feet?”

“Thanks.” Matt said. They went down the stairs, amicable conversation driving them on an empty stomach. The promise of food and mimosas lured them away from their little corner of hell. 

They had prepared for the weekend in advance. Foggy had set up some temporary curtains and brought a television at Matt’s for the movie, Karen had bought alcohol for the night, and Matt had terrorized the criminals of Hell’s Kitchen to the point that most of where taking a few days off because of fear of and due to blunt force trauma courtesy of Daredevil. 

Everything was looking out to be great. Their brunch passed quickly and with a bit of a stroll in upper Manhattan. Then they were kidnapped, targeted because they had taken down Fisk (which was true but officially they had helped clinch it legally). 

Really they only found this out due to some shitty exposition on the kidnappers part while he streamed a video. It was meant for the Avengers? Or SHIELD? Matt wasn’t really sure. 

“-tyranny under the guise of justice!” their kidnapper ranted. And really if it weren’t for the camera, Matt would have attacked the asshole in an instant. Karen discovering his secrets wasn’t that big in terms of EVERYONE discovering his secrets. The kidnapper pointed at them. 

“My brother was killed in the destruction of AIM by Tony Stark. Where was my brother’s justice? Men who worked for Fisk who didn’t know their employers were a syndicate operators? Like my cousin!” 

Did this man’s entire family join major crime organizations? Matt wondered as he worried his restraints. On the bright side escaping a rope wasn’t impossible for people so it hardly would be suspicious when Matt broke free. 

“- so the innocent will pay for the innocent lost. You’re guilty and I have no interest in you but I will show you. I can bring you back to atone for your crimes.” Matt grimaced. What the hell was he saying? This didn’t make any sense (not even from the beginning). 

“Uh, buddy he’s pointing some kind of gun at us. It’s not a gun-gun but it’s glowing and looks very science fictiony.” Foggy whispered. Karen made a noise. 

“I-I need to stop him.” Karen muttered, her voice sounding odd. 

“Karen, no. I-“ Foggy swallowed. “I can deal with this.” Okay, no. No one was dealing with it but Matt. He had the training. 

“I can do it. Foggy you don’t understand.” The conversation didn’t continue because mid dialogue the man fired the device. It didn’t hurt and Matt really didn’t remember between then and the surprise he wasn’t at St Agnes.

Surprise and anger.

The set of two heartbeats next to him were about his size and clearly surprised as well. Had he been kidnapped? 

“Gun.” a male voice called. A boy, like him.

“Da.” A female replied, slightly smaller in size but she sounded about their age. At once they were all focused on the male in front of them, heavy and sweating. He was rambling about success and vengeance. 

The girl attacked low and Matt countered her move by aiming high. The boy took out the camera, which Matt hadn’t known was there until it crashed. Really they couldn’t have executed their movements better if they had actually talked about it. Their kidnapper didn’t last much longer. 

A sickening series of breaks and wet moans ended him. One of the others stabbed him in the throat. When it was clear he was dead they each stood away from each other, almost equidistant if Matt was reading the room right. The boy and girl had a knife each. Matt had his fists. 

They were breathing hard and adrenaline was coursing through their veins. Matt could hear their hearts pounding like drums, war drums. Matt purposefully relaxed his stance. 

“Do you know Stick? The Hand?”

The boy hesitated then replied. “No. Do you know the Sharpes?”

The girl relaxed then asked. “No.” her accent switched during the word. Sounding Russian and then to American. “Do you know my handler? Red room?”

“No.” Matt replied. Then said. “You’re like me.” After moment the boy laughed. 

“Yeah. Why do you think we’re here? I mean last thing I remember was my boss, my mom, talking about me being a butcher with my uncles.” He grinned. 

“A butcher?” The girl called, confused.

“You know. Silencing people. A knife here and shot there on people meat.” 

“Ah, a butcher.” The girl replied with understanding. “You will be good.” The boy drooped.

“Yeah, I get told that a lot but I don’t want to be a butcher.” He admitted. “I’m hoping my dad can get custody of me.” He paused. “I want to be a lawyer.”

“Me too.” Matt said perking up. 

“Cool!” He reached out a hand. “I’m Foggy.” Matt nodded and grasped his hand. 

“Matt.” They turned to the girl. 

“Karen.” That was a lie but not. Matt didn’t bother calling her on it. “Why do you wear those glasses?” Karen asked Matt. 

“I’m blind.”

“No way. Like how much can you see? Did you lose your vision in a fight?”

“I can’t see at all. I’m blind-blind, no light perception.” 

“What does that mean.”

“I can’t see AT ALL.” Matt said annoyed. “I got some chemicals in my eyes when I was nine-“

“Wait. Are you Matt Murdock?” This immediately set Matt on edge.

“Yes.”

“Holy smokes! You’re a hero! You saved old guy in Hell’s Kitchen. I’m from Hell’s Kitchen too.” He babbled excitedly. Truth. 

“You are a hero?” Karen replied and shifted. “I wish I were a hero. I will be hero to my government but I’m not yet. I’m still training.”

“Me too.” Both Foggy and Matt replied. They all shifted. 

“Any one remember how they got here?” Karen asked after moment, repeating Foggy’s question. A shake of heads. “Maybe this man wanted to assume our training.” 

“I doubt it. He was pathetic.” Matt groused. Then stopped. An aircraft, really close. He cocked his head. “Quiet!” He hissed and concentrated. “Someone’s coming.” It was hard but he could make out the voices as they approached. 

“-traced the broadcast here.”

“Hopefully they’re still okay.”

“They're stupid kids what do you expect-” The rest of his statement was cut off in a whirr of engines.

“Nat and I will go down and stake the place out. We should be able to locate them or a clue as to where they are.”

“I’ll settle the plane down. I’ll join you in a moment.” 

Matt turned at them. “Two people are coming.” He sniffed the air. “Guns?” He sniffed again. “Leather, armor. I can’t make out more. But they’re coming and a third is landing the plane.”

“You could hear that?” Foggy asked confused but his grip on his knife tightened. Karen shifted her weight. 

“They’re expecting us. Hide. I-they’re coming from above. That side.” he said quickly. “I’m going to pretend to cry. Attack them. Surprise.”

“Wait.” Karen said and moved over the body of their kidnapper. A quick shuffle of cloth and she pulled out something. Gun powder. “Take this, Foggy. Cover us.” Foggy took the gun and he ran to find a position. Karen disappeared in a flurry of speed and grace. Matt made sure to get back against something. He managed to collapse and pretend to cry as the two entered. 

“Nat, I see Murdock!” The man hissed quietly into his radio. 

“I see him.” Was the reply. “Any sign of the others Clint?”

“No. But our bad guy is dead. Shit. Someone must have taken the other two.”

“Hello.” They greeted. Matt pretended to flinch. “Whoa, there. We’re here to help.” 

“Who are you? Where am I?” Matt asked, his tone scared. “Why are you here?” He made his tone hysterical. 

“We’re the good guys. We work with the police and government. We know this is scary but we need your help. We know you and two others were kidnapped. What happened to them?”

“They took them!” Matt sobbed and cowered. “They were going to do things and they killed the man after we knocked him over. We just wanted to leave. I hid, they couldn’t find me. They left and said they were going to come back. I was so scared.” The woman shifted and knelt. 

“Hey, that’s not your fault. We can help them. We can help you-“ Matt knew his cover was blown when Clint’s heartbeat raced.

“Nat, get away from him.” Clint said suddenly and sharply. Matt heard him try to arm his bow (?). Nat looked turned to him. 

“What?”

“The blood spatter on his shirt. Look at it. He wasn’t hiding he was standing close to Roscoe when the knife was pulled out. He was standing still.” Nat turned to him and Matt took advantage of her position he head butted her and launched himself up into the air from her knees. 

Karen dropped next to him and made sure she stayed down. Clint couldn’t draw his bow fully when Matt launched himself at the man. Clint shifted about to block him with his bow when a shot fired. A bullet grazed the man’s arm and Matt delivered a kick to the face, he flipped behind him and swept his legs out beneath him. Another shot fired.

Matt sensed Nat dodge and made sure to avoid her as Karen forced her entire body weight on Clint’s abdomen, winding him. Her knife made a play for his throat but he managed to throw her off of him before it made contact. 

Foggy moved closer and provided cover, when the adults looked like they would get an advantage his shots caused them to dodge. When he ran out of bullets a series of knives made their way into Nat’s shoulder and Clint’s left thigh, they dodge the rest. 

They didn’t stand a chance. Unlike “Roscoe” they didn’t kill these two but made sure to tie them up with rope that was near by. Well Karen wanted to kill them but Matt stopped her. They were with the authorities; it would be bad to kill them. 

Instead they left, they would need to hide and figure out what was going on. They left just as soon as their third partner joined them. Good. Just in time.


	2. Chapter 2

Matt sat under a tree in a park and worrying his cane while he waited for the others came back from the pharmacy. He heard the rustling of a bag as Foggy and Karen greeted him; pick pocketing and shopping was a success then. They led him to a secluded spot. It wasn’t an alley but the street was deserted as it faced the backs of businesses.

“We’re Uptown.” Foggy said. Matt frowned. He couldn’t remember going Uptown in a few months. The lack of memory of the trip or potential transport made him unsettled. He couldn’t see the others but thought they probably felt the same. 

“What do we do?” Karen asked. “I cannot contact my handler. I do not see any payphones.” She sounded calm but her heart was pounding. Fear?

Foggy shrugged, “I just shrugged.” Foggy said and Matt smiled. Foggy was narrating his moves and some of the things they had passed. Even though Matt had fought, he had offered. There was something familiar about it. Maybe because this dad used to do his best at it or maybe…

“Let’s go to my dad’s.” Foggy said, interrupting Matt’s thought process and at the same time handing Matt a T-shirt. It was a bit too big and probably had something touristy on it but after the fight he couldn’t risk people noticing bloodstains on him or the others. Foggy shuffled and he heard the shuffling of fabric, so he had one too. 

“Why not your mother?” Karen asked.

“She won’t be happy I’m here. I don’t even know how I got here. None of us do. If she learns there’s you two I don’t know what she’ll do. She’s equally as likely to take you in or take you out.” 

“Does your dad know what you do?” Matt asked. Foggy shook his head. 

“He shook his head.” Karen said, copying Foggy. Hers did not have the same feeling of familiarity as Foggy but it didn’t feel weird. Matt smiled at her in thanks.

“No-Yes- sort of. He knows Mom and the Family don’t do everything legal but I don’t think he knows what I’m doing exactly.”

“He doesn’t know you’re a killer.” Karen surmised. Foggy nodded. 

“Yeah, I don’t want him to know, ever.”

“When did you kill?” Matt asked curiously. He hadn’t killed yet. 

“He killed the man at the warehouse.” Karen added. 

“Ah, so you were the one. I couldn’t tell.” He needed more practice to keep track of everyone still. Stick wouldn’t be happy when he came back. If he came back. Matt decided not to dwell on it. 

“Yeah. I-I haven’t killed anyone before. I mean I hurt them but I haven’t-mom thought the liability was too big and I’m a minor still so…” He shrugged. 

“I would have killed the other two if you hadn’t stopped me.” Karen added. “I can do it. You should have let me.”

“They were there to help and they weren’t lying about being cops.” Matt said annoyed. 

“Karen, drop it.” Foggy said. He sounded tired. “We need to get rid of the knife.” He muttered as he ran his hands over his pocket. 

“Yes. Into the river.” Karen said but her tone was wavering with some unidentified. “I could have killed him.” 

“Karen, we need to keep that down-“

“I hesitated.” Karen said and she sounded teary, but Matt didn’t smell tears. “I hesitated and if my handler finds out I will be punished so severely.” 

“You don’t have to feel bad for having empathy. It’s good.”

“It’s a weakness. It is a risk.” 

“We can say you killed him if you want.” Foggy said. “And the others, we stopped you. You didn’t hesitate on the archer.” Karen seemed reassured by this because she nodded.

“How are we going to get to my dad’s?” Foggy muttered. “There probably going to expect us there.” 

“We need to lay low then, then go to your dad’s. Late at night.” Matt replied and paused. 

“I don’t know where to go until then.” Foggy looked up. 

“It’s almost dark. We can hide, eat a bit and then walk back to Hell’s Kitchen.” Karen suggested.

“It’s going to take hours.” Matt murmured. He didn’t want to walk all those blocks. He felt tired from the fight and didn’t want to exhaust himself in case they came back.

“It’s not like we don’t have time.” Foggy replied. Karen nodded. “She just nodded.” He said absentmindedly. 

“We should start going then. They’ll search the area soon.” They left, tourist shirts and giggles drawing away people’s attention. 

Or so they hoped.

\---

 

“What do you mean they took out Clint and Natasha?” Steve asked disbelievingly. 

“They’re in medical. They have gunshot grazes and knifes wounds, not to mention the bruises from a physical fight with two twelve year olds or thirteen, whatever. It’s the best estimate Clint had about their ages.” Tony replied.

“How did they take them out? I mean we identified the right people right?” Steve said looking at the still of the blind man and the blonds on the screen. 

“Yep, those are all the employees of Nelson and Murdock, the people who helped put Fisk away. Murdock is the one with sunglasses, because he’s freaking blind but apparently fights like a ninja. 

“The longhaired guy is Nelson, who comes from a family of butchers, handymen and lawyers. He shoots like a pro. Clint said he didn’t miss. His shots weren’t aiming to kill.

“The other blonde is their secretary; her background is bland and checks out when run. According to Natasha her fighting style is very familiar, she thinks Russian, if not Red Room.” Tony said.

“It wasn’t luck.” Bruce said. “They were trained. Someone trained three kids to fight, to the death.”

“Separately.” Steve said, his fists were curled tightly. Child soldiers, in New York. Three separate ones. A chime let them know the latest update from their search. Thor and Sam were flying, trying to find the kids and a ground search was being down by a few members of the new SHIELD. So far nothing. “We need to find them.” 

“Yeah. We know but they’re not going to come to us seeing what they did to Natasha.”

“Are we monitoring their old haunts?”

“The middle of long island and an orphanage for Page and Murdock, so that’s out. We’re covering Nelson’s parents’ places. His mother has a place uptown and his father has a shop and home in Hell’s Kitchen. We’re hoping he goes to his mom’s will be easier.”

“They might not go there. If they’re trained –“ Bruce began.

“Yeah, we know. They’ll avoid the most obvious places.” Tony sighed. “We haven’t had a chance to look at reversing their deaging too.”

“If it doesn’t wear off we need to train them.” Clint said as he came. “They’re too dangerous to leave alone.” He was limping and his face was bruised.

“Will we need to?” Bruce asked. “They grew up and aren’t involved in anything from what we can find. They’re in a law firm.”

“It probably a cover.” Steve added.

“You don’t go to law school for just a cover.” Bruce replied. “They do good. Maybe they escaped somehow. They’re living their lives.” 

“Then what, we just ignore it?”

“No, not now but what are we going to do when they’re adults? Accuse them of things without evidence?”

“They could fight.” Clint repeated. “They’re trained. The girl tried to put a knife in my throat and they shot at us.”

“But they didn’t kill you when they could. We don’t know their story, not any of it besides what’s public. We can’t expect them to not attack. If they wanted to kill you tell me they wouldn’t have shot you or slit your throats?” Bruce reasoned. 

“Again she tried to put a knife to my throat and let’s not forget they killed a man.”

“We can’t expect them to have acted rationally. For one they’re children, secondly they’re most likely confused, and thirdly they had no way of know who you were or validate you were actually a good guy.”

“Then lets find them, find out who trained them, kick THEIR asses, and turn them back into adults. Then we’ll go from there.” Tony said. 

“That’s probably the best course of action.” Steve agreed and sighed. Clint looked unhappy or that could be his resting face. Clint had that kind of face, Steve learned it was termed ‘resting bitch face’ but didn’t really think it appropriate to call Clint’s face all the time.

“And if they don’t or can’t be turned back?”

“Then we go from there.”

“You could take them to your farm.” Tony said. Now Clint definitely looked unhappy. 

“No. Let me know if you find them. I’m going to take a rest.” Steve sighed; this was going to be a long night.


	3. Chapter 3

They reached Hell’s Kitchen in the evening. Matt’s feet hurt and he wanted his cane. It was getting hard to focus on everything. Or more like blocking it out.

Foggy was getting tired of narrating and Karen had stopped speaking English about an hour ago. He was pretty sure he had learned the word for curb and something he guessed was roughly equivalent to ‘damn car’. 

He really wanted his cane, he thought as he ran his shoulder into a wall. Foggy pulled him back. “Careful.” He hissed; his voice was hoarse. Matt nodded and winced as he sore toes felt like they were running against the tips of his shoes again. His shoes weren’t really meant for fighting or hours of walking and sneaking. 

They rested for ten minutes. Karen grabbed them food from some poor unassuming man. It was a little less than half a burger and fries but it was food. He didn’t try to think about grease with each bite or the warring battle between the ketchup’s corn syrup and fries’ salt in the aftermath. It was a much-needed break, even sitting on the stoop of some family’s home. 

“We’re almost at my house. I can go in and talk to my dad.” Foggy said as he rattled the bag for any stray crumbs. 

“You’re just going to walk in?” Karen asked surprised by Foggy’s disregard for safety after an afternoon of avoidance of anything even resembling a cop. 

“They could be watching the house.”

“They don’t know who we are.”

“They do. Guy at the factory knew my name. Thy probably know who you are and where your parents live.”

“I know but I’m supposed to live with my mom and my mom isn’t nice. I would totally think a kid would go there for protection but I’m not an idiot.”

“Nor are all adults.” Matt said. 

“I guess. I can go around the back.” Foggy said after a moment. “Dad will know what to do.” 

Matt paused. “I can listen and make sure they’re there. That way we won’t expose ourselves. We can hide.” 

“Yeah, that’s our best shot. I’m tired and I want to wash.” Foggy said, though his tone was starting to get different. He sounded…hopeful, Matt thought. “I can see my dad and he’ll know what to do.” Matt swallowed.

“Really think we can make it in?” Karen asked.

“Yes.” Foggy’s heart skipped. Matt felt his own skip. It wasn’t quite a lie but hope. They didn’t have much a choice. 

 

\----  
“Do we have any visuals on the kids?” Steve barked. A negative on all parts. “None? They haven’t gone to Nelson home or even the Sharp residence?”

“No, sir. There’s no view. We have a perimeter set up with the local PD but nothing is registering.” A grunt from the new SHIELD said. Steve sighed. 

“How do we not have any images of them? We have been searching for hours. They have no other contacts. They’re children.”

“They know that they may need to hide.” Stark intoned. “They killed a man and fought us. If they’re smart they’ll stay hidden.”

“They’re also children with a safe space. They’ll want to return to their handlers. Right now we know of one, Nelson’s so we wait.” Natasha intoned from her station. Her eye was black and there was a cut along the bottom lip. It was hard to believe a boy had done that to the Black Widow.

“So we’ll keep monitoring.” Steve said and watched the footage of the townhouse. His gaze turned to a high rise. Rosalind Sharpe was out of the country but her son could still aim to her. His nostrils flared as he thought about what he had read. Rosalind Sharpe was clean in every aspect they could cover but her family…

Rumor had it that Nelson boy had been trained to be a butcher, muscle until his intelligence shined through. 

Now he was a lawyer. 

Like his mother.   
\---

Matt tilted his head. Foggy popped his wrist. He needed to move fast. He needed to get in and establish if it was safe. If it wasn’t safe he could tell Matt, who would hear and get him and Karen away. Foggy tried not to think about earlier that day. 

He had killed a man. 

God he-He shook his head. No, he couldn’t let that keep him down. He was trained for this. He was good at his job. He was better than this. He was a Sharpe. 

He was a Nelson.

He wanted his family and his dad would know what to do. He looked at Matt and Karen. Looking at them he felt like a selfish boy. He had a family. What did Matt and Karen have? Matt was an orphan. Karen…Foggy didn’t know about her but she sounded lonely and scared. 

He was Franklin Foggy Nelson. He wasn’t a coward. He could do this. 

Matt nodded and gestured for him to go. Foggy took off as quickly as he could, staying in the shadows. He moved across yards. He tried to avoid dogs and the lights on the patios. He felt unnerved. Foggy didn’t spend all his time in Hell’s Kitchen but he knew the area. Mom had made sure of it. 

He didn’t recognize any of the patios or their layout. He didn’t recognize anything when he entered his own yard. Shit. He felt his palms sweat. Had someone set up cameras? Was he going to die? Did they have his parents, his sister? 

Foggy made sure he had a knife on him when he opened the door into his house. His parents still kept a key on the flowerpot next to the door. The key was half buried in the dirt in a fake rock. Foggy could hear the television on in the living room. 

Was his dad there? He felt a swell of hope. Oh god. Dad. He stayed down as he made his way to the living room. The window blinds were drawn, fuck. He couldn’t just walk in. He saw a figure sitting on the worn out lazy boy. Dad. 

“Dad!” Foggy hissed. The figure sat up quickly, surprised. “Dad, they’re watching don’t move quickly! I’m going to the kitchen in the back.”

Dad stilled and stood slowly. Foggy made his way to the kitchen. The darkness of the room made him feel better. Safer. A moment later his Dad came in. Holding something small, a small bat. The bat fell. 

“Foggy. Oh my God.” Dad said in awe. Foggy thought he understood what he was seeing. 

“Dad. Dad, you’re _old_.” This was his dad but his face was more wrinkled and his hair greyer. A pair of footsteps came down the stairs and walked toward them. A moment later its maker gave a startled gasp. 

Foggy turned his eyes to the figure. 

“F-Foggy?” 

“Mom.” Anna. This was Anna. Mom. Rosalind. The thought sent him into attention quickly. He had no idea what was going on, he didn’t know why his parents were old but they were his parents. 

“Mom. Dad. We need your help. We don’t know what’s going on.” _I killed someone._

“Who is we Foggy?” His dad sounded shaky but he sounded like he believed this was Foggy. 

“Matt and Karen- I mean- Matt Mur-“ Anna cut him off.

“Matt and Karen? What happened are all of you like this- are they your age, Foggy?” Anna asked. Foggy nodded. Dad and Anna shared a look. He was missing something. A large something.

“Tell them to come in, Foggy.” Dad said. Foggy hid his knife. Dad didn’t know about that. He didn’t need to. 

“They’re on their way.” They didn’t ask how. Several minutes later Matt and Karen were at their door. Foggy was surprised when Anna guided Matt and narrated where everything was. Karen looked suspicious at his parents, he understood. They were old. This wasn’t normal. 

Nothing was normal. 

Everything was wrong and the could only hope that his parents could help fix it. 

 

\---

Sir? JARVIS typed to Stark’s table. Tony nodded minutely to the camera. There is movement on the Nelson residence. Three small figures have made their way across several yards. Tony glanced at Steve looking sternly at the screen. It looked like SHIELD didn’t have the intel yet. 

Shall I inform the others?

Tony shook his head, minutely. Not yet. They needed more time. They needed more time to figure out how to reverse this and how to handle the kids. 

The others wanted to treat them like soldiers but Tony knew that wasn’t the right approach. You couldn’t just treat them like that, they were soldiers but…

They were also afraid and had been molded into someone’s image. 

Tony knew exactly what that was like. 

Freedom…. Freedom was a dangerous thing. 

If they couldn’t turn them back they might need this to stay straight. They had no idea what had set the three onto their adult paths but the lawyers and their secretary were clean and helped take down Fisk. They were clean and idealistic. 

He would inform them. Soon, but not yet.


End file.
